ELDISS WHIRLWIND 868

This back-to-basics caravan should appeal to families who are shopping on a budget

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WHIRLWIND should be familiar to fans of Elddis caravans, as it has been used as a model name going back over the years.

For 2026, this is the name Elddis has chosen to give its most budget-friendly range. Avanté, the name used before, has gone upmarket to become Avanté Apex.

Some of the Apex’s features, including an Al-Ko wheel lock, Omnivent, alarm, solar panel, WiFi connection, external mains socket, barbecue point and shower, are available on Whirlwind with the Evolve package, which our test model came with. That costs an additional £2600 on this twin-axle six-berth, but only £2200 on the single-axles in the lineup.

Separating the spec list out has allowed Erwin Hymer to home in on the value it is offering in the newly named range. Without those extras - probably none of which are truly essential - it can offer the Whirlwind 868 for £29,999. In contrast, the old Avanté 868 was on sale this year for £32,499.

Pitch and setup

It would be wrong to imply, though, that Whirlwind has simply taken over from what was Avanté. With its curvier front profile, tinted sunroof, jazzy decal strip and elegant lettering, this is visually an improvement on the Avanté.

It even looks a bit like other, much more upmarket ranges in the Erwin Hymer UK stable, such as Buccaneer, although the layouts and model numbers are pretty much the same as the old Avanté.